You have suffered grievously and
I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you
have endured. Your trust hasb een betrayed and your dignity
has been violated. We are all scandalised by the sins and failures
of some of the Church's members.Pope Benedict XVIApology to Irish victims of sex abuse by
priests, in a letter to Irish Catholics.

I was covered in scars from the beatings, and she used to
say it was hockey. . . She'd apologise. She was in pain. I
understand that now, but you don't when you're three and four
and you're being beaten to death with a hoover.Brenda FrickerActress on how her bipolar manic depressive
mother used to beat her as a child.

Unfortunately, I experienced some sexual abuse. It was a
known and admitted fact of life amongst us that there was
this particular man, and you didn't want to be left in the
dressing room with him. It took many years to come to terms
with it and to forgive those incidents that I felt had deeply
hurt me.Gabriel ByrneActor on how he was sexually abused by
Christian Brothers when he was an altar boy in Dublin. He said
he was also abused by member of clergy when he moved to England
at age of 11 to train as a priest.

She took my father from my life oh
Took my sister and brothers oh
I watched her torturing my child
Feeble I was then but now I'm grown
Fire on BabylonSinead O'ConnorSinger on how her mother abused her as
a child, from song Fire on Babylon.

The Christian Brothers were fairly mangled fellows in Navan.
Some men speak highly of them. Unfortunately I never saw that.
I just remember the brutality. The Paddtbats, the straps that
would fly out of the soutane like vipers' tongues, the beatings
amidst the prayers - whack!Pierce BrosnanActor on his abuse by religious brothers
while a boy at school in Ireland.

Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.Herbert Ward

Everyone is an abused child, if you think about what governments
do.Tim Roth

If the FBI's motivating factor for busting down the Koresh
compound was child abuse, how come we never see Bradley tanks
smashing into Catholic churches?Bill Hicks

Child abuse continues to be a significant problem in the
United States. It was estimated that in 2001, 903,000 children
were the victims of child abuse or neglect. Child abuse is
a crime perpetrated on the innocent and the defenseless.Pete Domenici

I was angry about the fact that my father would beat my mother
on a daily basis, that my mother would take it in turn and
beat on me. I was an abused child. I was mad about all those
things, very bitter and very angry.Rick James

We expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy, substance
abuse, and the failings of the family. Then we expect them
to educate our children.John Sculley

I believe the best service to the child is the service closest
to the child, and children who are victims of neglect, abuse,
or abandonment must not also be victims of bureaucracy. They
deserve our devoted attention, not our divided attention.Kenny Guinn

Child abuse does not go away, but 90 percent of child abuse
is preventable.Karen Adams

Child abuse and neglect offend the basic values of our state.
We have a responsibility to provide safe settings for at-risk
children and facilitate permanent placement for children who
cannot return home.Matt Blunt

Most of the people we see don't want to live in a shelter
and feel safe in their own little camp. Experience has taught
me that almost 100 percent of these people suffered abuse
as children. Well over half have emotional, mental problems.
Most have drug and alcohol problems.John Gallagher

Abuse changes your life...Fight Back and change the life
of your abusers by Breaking Your Silence on Abuse!Patty Rase Hopson

Child abuse and neglect offend the basic values of our state.
We have a responsibility to provide safe settings for at-risk
children and facilitate permanent placement for children who
cannot return home.Matt Blunt

The consequences of your denial will be with you for a lifetime
and will be passed down to the next generations. Break your
Silence on Abuse!Patty Rase Hopson

The only reason why child abuse is alive today, is because
we as adults fail our children when we fail to listen to them.
Listen to a child today!Heather McClane

One in four children being victimized? That's about seven
children in every classroom. That's a significant proportion
of the population.Wendy Craig

I think the issue of clergy sexual abuse sparked people to
look at their faith in a different way.William P. Leahy

In my view, there is nothing more vicious and outrageous
than the abuse, exploitation and harm of the most vulnerable
members of our society, and I firmly believe that our nation's
laws and resources need to reflect the seriousness of these
terrible crimes.Bob Ney

It's important to talk about it. You raise awareness. But
you can also prevent it (child abuse) by not letting it be
a secret.Chris Witty

A lot of people in our community don't want to believe that
child abuse happens in their neighborhoods  but it does.Shari Pulliam

When someone was hitting me, or like sexually molesting me,
it just seemed normal to continue to do that to myself.Tatum O'Neal

At least half of child abuse victims want to physically see
or visit with the offender. They feel that any kind of clarity
about why those things happened can help healing.Gary Schoener

Child abuse and neglect is sometimes the result of a parent
who reaches the end of their frustration and tolerance level.
If we can give parents tools to deal with an infant who is
particularly challenging with their crying, we will have taken
an important step toward our prevention mandate.Gary Kleeblatt

Child abuse is a problem no one really talks about. Abuse
and neglect is the number 1 cause of injury to children in
the country. More children die of abuse or neglect than of
natural causes.Donna Miller

Not many networks like to make movies about child abuse...
Most people cannot watch films about the subject. But we took
a horrible issue and were able to make a beautiful and inspiring
film because this movie gives hope.Craig AndersonExecutive producer of For the Love of a
Child, a film dealing with child abuse.